Barry Nickels and Guy Smalley of the YCB ACO North Yorkshire Branch will be delivering a refresher course to any umpire, captain, player, coach or generally anyone involved with the game of cricket on Saturday 29th March between 2pm and 5pm at Spofforth Cricket Club. The session is free of charge and will be informal and discussion is positively encouraged as are questions. The bar will be open.

Please circulate this around your club members, junior sections, coaches and parents.

If you intend on coming and so we know how many people we might be expecting, please email Graham Hyde.

MCC has decided to make some alterations to the Laws of Cricket, which came into effect on 1 October 2013 as part of the Laws of Cricket 2000 Code 5th Edition 2013.

Some of the changes made in this 5th Edition are significant and materially alter the outcome from the 4th Edition, whilst others are simply aimed at creating more clarity or consistency with other Laws, rather than involving a change in policy.

There is no release of a revised version of Tom Smith’s.

Please read the following document, which outlines the major changes and gives a guide on their interpretation and application. This document is available to view online, broken down by Law in the ‘2013 Changes’ section of MCC’s website. This online version also contains some video clips of relevant examples, which will help to clarify areas of the Law in a user-friendly format.

The most noteworthy changes are as follows:

A new No ball Law (24.6) making it a No ball if the bowler breaks the wicket during his delivery stride. (See Law 24)

A batsman with a runner is now protected if he is ‘stumped’ off a No ball. Previously, he would have been out run out. (See Law 2.8)

The moment at which a batsman can be out Handled the ball has been limited to when he is playing the ball or its immediate aftermath, i.e. when defending his wicket. Consequently, only the striker can be out this way. Any subsequent handling by either batsman will be subject to Obstructing the field. (See Laws 33 and 37)

Hit the ball twice – it is no longer possible to score any runs after making a lawful second strike (in defence of his wicket). Previously, runs could be taken after a lawful second strike only after an overthrow had occurred, but this option of run scoring has been removed completely. (See Law 34)

Practice on the field – players are now allowed to bowl a ball to a fielder as a loosener, even if it bounces on the ground, as long as it does not waste time or is not being done to damage the ball. (See Law 17)